How to Scan Old Photos for AI Restoration (DPI, Colour and File Size)

A restoration model can only work with the detail that reaches it. A soft, cropped or heavily compressed phone snapshot limits the result before any AI runs. This guide covers the scan settings that matter for old prints, and the ones that do not.

Why scan quality matters more than prompt wording

The restoration pass separates damage from image content. Scratches, dust and creases are rebuilt from the texture around them; fading is corrected from the scan's own tonal distribution. If the scan has lost that texture, the model has less to work with. A clean 600 dpi scan and a screenshot of the same print can produce visibly different results.

Flatbed scanner vs phone camera

A flatbed scanner is the most reliable option. It keeps the print flat, lights it evenly and avoids perspective distortion. Scan at 300–600 dpi in colour mode and crop to the photograph, not the scanner bed.

A phone camera is fine when the print is flat and the light is even. Put the photo on a neutral surface, avoid direct flash, and shoot straight down. Do not use a messaging app's compressed copy: send the original file or transfer it by cable.

Choose DPI by print size and subject

| Print size | Starting DPI | When to go higher | | ------------------------ | ------------ | ------------------------------------ | | 4×6 in / 10×15 cm | 300 | Small faces or a group photo | | 5×7 in / 13×18 cm | 300 | Heavy damage or planned enlargement | | 8×10 in / 20×25 cm | 300 | Fine detail such as lace or uniforms | | Any size with tiny faces | 600 | 1940s group portraits, school photos |

Do not upscale a small file before uploading. Interpolation invents pixels; it does not recover detail. If the source is a 1200-pixel-wide screenshot, a 6000-pixel upload will still look soft.

Scan in colour, even for black-and-white prints

Greyscale scanning throws away paper grain, foxing, stains and subtle warm/cool shifts. Those are exactly the cues a restoration or colorization model uses to separate damage from real content. Scan in colour and let the model decide what is monochrome.

Crop, clean and keep the master

• Crop to the photograph's edge; a scanner bed full of black border gives the model no useful context.
• Do not “clean” the scan by hand before restoring it. Keep the damage visible so the repair pass can address it.
• Keep an untouched master file. Every restoration is an interpretation; you may want to try a different tone or repair order later.
• Remove dust from the scanner glass, not from the print with a wet cloth.

File formats and the 10 MB upload limit

OldPhotosLab accepts JPG, PNG or WEBP up to 10 MB per image. For a 600 dpi colour scan, JPEG at high quality is usually the smallest usable format. PNG is better for line art and screenshots but can be much larger. WEBP is accepted and often smaller than PNG.

If a scan is over 10 MB, reduce it by cropping to the photo or exporting a high-quality JPEG instead of lowering the resolution. Do not send a 2 MB messaging-app copy of a 20 MB scan.

A workflow that works

1. Scan at 300–600 dpi in colour mode.
2. Crop to the photo and keep the master file.
3. Repair physical damage first with old photo repair.
4. Colorize the cleaned file with the photo colorizer if you want colour.
5. Compare the result at full size and keep the original scan next to it.

If the print is badly torn or missing a corner, start with AI photo restoration. If the only problem is softness, use unblur instead of a full restoration pass.

When the scan is already bad

A low-resolution scan, a screenshot or a photo of a photo can still be improved, but the result is limited. Sharpening cannot recover detail that was never sampled. If the face is smaller than about 100 pixels wide, rescan the print before spending credits on a restoration.

Related guides and pricing

Ready to try it? Compare plans and credit packs or open the AI photo restoration tool. Related guides: removing scratches from old photos and the vintage restoration guide.